Epirus: nine drug arrests in a single week

Nine arrests in seven separate drug cases were made within a single week by services of the General Regional Police Directorate of Epirus. According to the information released publicly, four people were arrested in Ioannina — three Greek men and one Greek woman — three Greek nationals in Thesprotia and two in Arta. No arrests are reported in Preveza, the fourth regional unit of Epirus, although this does not mean that no checks were carried out in the area during the same period. Ioannina accounts for the largest number of cases in the region, something linked to its population and to the student presence in the city.

Small quantities of raw cannabis and cocaine were found in the possession of those arrested. That description matters for the legal handling of the cases: when the quantities are small and there are no other indications of dealing, a case is usually treated as simple possession rather than trafficking, with a clearly different sentencing framework. Case files were compiled in all instances and submitted to the competent prosecuting authorities. All those arrested are presumed innocent until the competent courts rule otherwise. The assessment of quantity is made by the prosecuting authorities on the basis of laboratory results and the other material in the case file.

The police directorate states that checks are carried out daily across the whole of Epirus, targeting both possession and trafficking, and that operations are continuing in all four regional units. Publishing aggregated weekly summaries is a practice followed by most of the country’s regional police directorates, so that the overall picture is set out without releasing details that could lead to the identification of those involved or harm the progress of investigations. The weekly summaries also allow comparison with earlier periods and serve as a tool of public accountability for the services.

Epirus lies in a geographical position with particular characteristics, since it borders Albania and has the port of Igoumenitsa, one of the main hubs of connection with Italy. The figures for this particular week, however, concern exclusively small quantities and cases of a local nature, with no reference to organised trafficking or to any cross-border dimension. The police authorities did not release information on the age or identity of those arrested, as is provided for in cases that have not been tried. More in the Crime section. The police note that checks are stepped up during the summer months, when movement increases in coastal and mountain areas of Epirus.